How to Disagree with Someone More Powerful: The Harvard Business Review Guide

Let's say you

disagree

with

someone

more

powerful

than you, your boss or your boss's boss, how do you decide if you should say something, when and where to speak, what to say and how to say it? I'm going to share some tips to help you.

disagree

with that authority figure

more

constructively and with more confidence, say your client demands an unrealistic timeline or your senior colleague wants you to accept that doomed-to-failure idea to decide if you should say something, it's helpful Doing a risk assessment first It's natural to avoid confrontation with a superior As humans, we instinctively stay away from situations that we fear could cause us harm, emotional rejection, or professional failure, but you may be exaggerating these risks, you probably don't care. fire or make a mistake. enemy just for speaking your mind, especially if you do it the right way, most of us focus on the risk of saying something, but communication expert Joseph Granny suggests we focus first on the risk of not saying something.

What can you lose? What opportunities could you have? or your team will miss out on what could happen later if you don't raise this issue now, then think realistically about what could happen if you voice your disagreement and wonder what's worse; You may decide that talking isn't really worth it, esp. If you hire

someone

who you suspect will be vindictive or if your workplace has a history of punishing people for speaking their minds, but in many cases sharing your opinion will be the right thing to do, then you need to decide when and where to share it.

You may be able to build a stronger case if you wait to share your disagreement. This will give you time to research the facts and make sure you understand the full picture. It may also give you time to find colleagues who are on the same page as you and their ideas and support can strengthen your case, the delay will also give you time to find the right environment to have this conversation where you are. A private meeting with this

powerful

person may be less threatening than airing your disagreement in a more public space. Once you've decided when and where to share your opinion, it's time to get into the nitty-gritty of what to say and how to say it. .

Communication expert Semana Santa advises us to remember that this is not a boxing match, it is rather a chess game in which you must be strategic to increase your chances of success and at the same time keep everyone's integrity intact in that sense. If possible, it is a good idea to establish a process with this person ahead of time before there is even a disagreement. You could say we probably don't always do it. to agree and I was wondering how you want me to share my opinion if it differs from yours that way when a disagreement arises they have already told you how they would like you to handle it and have given you tacit permission to share your opinion whether you can or not laying the groundwork beforehand, this is what I recommend when you are planning what to say, first clearly restate the original idea or proposal, it may seem unnecessary, but you don't want the conversation.

It's about whether or not you understood the original message. What you want is for it to be about your ideas. I also ask permission to disagree. I would like to present my reasoning. It would be good? It may sound overly deferential, but it's one of those strategic moves. This allows your manager to participate in the conversation without feeling threatened, and when you say yes, it has the added benefit of boosting their confidence before sharing your opinion, and this is really important. Connect your idea to a shared goal, something you both care about. such as quarterly profits, company morale, or creating an equitable workplace, the discussion can be refocused on achieving goals that are beneficial to the teams or the organization, and not on the fact that you have a contrary opinion once you have discovered what you want.

I am going to say that you need to think carefully about how you are going to present your argument and yourself in this delicate situation. Stay calm first. This isn't always easy, but you want to project confidence in neutrality. Anxious or hesitant body language can undermine your message. So breathe deeply, speak slowly and deliberately, trust me. You will both be much calmer. Maintain humility. Your opinion is just your opinion. You must be honest and recognize it. Saying things like "I'm thinking out loud or telling me where I am." I'm wrong about this, leave room for dialogue and invite curiosity rather than defensiveness, stay neutral, share only facts, not judgments, try this experiment to see what I mean, state your case without using a only adjective, the especially loaded ones, for example, instead of saying, I think making a big purchase now is hasty.

You could say that we can see that prices are falling. If we wait a little longer, we can save some money by avoiding words like stupid, naive, and incorrect. Separate your criticism from the people involved and keep it focused on the problem you are trying to solve together be respectful and firm and say something like I know you will make the final decision here it is up to you put the final decision in your court and at the same time shows that you know where you stand to make it clear that this is It's not about backing down or putting yourself down, it's a balancing act and you want to be firm in your opinion while also acknowledging your authority.

Okay, that was a lot of information, so let me summarize by evaluating when and where to speak. Remember the consequences of disagreeing. It won't be as bad and it could be a lot worse if you remain silent and at the same time wait to start the discussion until you have had time to gather support and ideas so you can present the best possible case. Choose the right time and place to present your case. have the conversation by strategizing what to say reframe the original idea so they know you understand what they proposed explain that you have a different opinion and ask if you can express it find common ground connect your disagreement with a shared goal that you both want to achieve yes You can establish a disagreement process ahead of time to make all of the above much easier when you think about how to say it.

Stay calm, breathe deeply, and speak slowly to keep everyone calm and collected. Stay humble and curious to listen to criticism. Stay neutral and avoid. critical adjectives that can be annoying and counterproductive be respectful but firm acknowledge your authority to make the final decision after expressing your opinion confidently and clearly thanks for watching all of these strategies are based on hbr articles and we will place the links in the description below Do you have any tactics that have worked for you to disagree with someone more powerful than you or do you have an important topic you want us to cover in the next video commenting hvr

guide

below, bye for now?